Cairo University Engineering Measurement MDP3610
Faculty of Engineering Year 2022 – 2023
Mechanical Design and Production Department 1st Semester
Force Measurement Lab
Objectives
Understand strain gauges and load cells.
Use Wheatstone bridge mounting of strain gauges.
Calibrate load cell sensor.
Capture signal from load cells.
1- Force Sensors
a) Strain gauge
A strain gauge is a passive transducer, that converts mechanical displacement into the change of
resistance. A strain gauge sensor is a thin wafer-like device that can be attached to a variety of
materials to measure applied strain.
Stain gauge resistance
𝐿
𝑅=𝜌
𝐴
Strain gauge factor
It is the ratio of the amount of change of resistance and the mechanical strain 𝜀
∆𝑅⁄𝑅 ∆𝑅⁄𝑅
𝑘= =
∆𝐿⁄𝐿 𝜀
b) Strain Gauge mounting in Wheatstone bridge
A strain gauge is connected into a Wheatstone bridge. This circuit is designed such that when no
force is applied to the strain gauge, R1 is equal to R2 and the resistance of the strain gauge is equal
to R3. In this condition the Wheatstone bridge is balanced, and the voltmeter shows no deflection.
When strain is applied to the strain gauge, the resistance of the strain gauge sensor changes, the
Wheatstone bridge becomes unbalanced, current flows through the voltmeter.
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Since the net change in the resistance is proportional to the applied strain, therefore, resultant
current flow through the voltmeter is proportional to the applied strain. The voltmeter can be
calibrated in terms of strain or force.
𝑉𝑜 𝑅1 𝑅3 − 𝑅2 𝑅4
=
𝑉𝑖 (𝑅1 + 𝑅2 )(𝑅3 + 𝑅4 )
For 𝑅1 = 𝑅2 = 𝑅3 = 𝑅 and 𝑅4 = 𝑅 − ∆𝑅
𝑉𝑜 ∆𝑅 1 ∆𝑅
= ≈
𝑉𝑖 (4𝑅 + 2∆𝑅) 4 𝑅
∆𝑅
Since 𝑅 ≫ ∆𝑅 and 4𝑅 ≫ 2∆𝑅 and 𝑅 = 𝑘𝜀
𝑉𝑖
𝑉𝑜 = 𝑘𝜀
4
In the above circuit, we have used only one strain gauge. This is known as ‘quarter bridge’ circuit.
We can also use two strain gauges or even four strain gauges in this circuit. Then this circuit is
called ‘half bridge’ and ‘full bridge’ respectively.
𝑉𝑜 1 (∆𝑅3 − ∆𝑅4 )
=
𝑉𝑖 4 𝑅
𝑉𝑖
𝑉𝑜 = 𝑘(𝜀3 − 𝜀4 )
4
For 𝜀3 = −𝜀4 = 𝜀
𝑉𝑖
𝑉𝑜 = 𝑘𝜀
2
The output signal is doubled. The measuring
system is more sensitive to the load strain.
𝑉𝑜 1 ∆𝑅1 ∆𝑅2 ∆𝑅3 ∆𝑅4
= ( − + − )
𝑉𝑖 4 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅3 𝑅4
𝑉𝑖
𝑉𝑜 = 𝑘(𝜀1 − 𝜀2 + 𝜀3 − 𝜀4 )
4
For 𝜀1 = −𝜀2 = 𝜀3 = −𝜀4 = 𝜀
𝑉𝑜 = 𝑉𝑖 𝑘𝜀
Both half-bridge and full-bridge configuration are known to provide greater sensitivity and better
accuracy. The full bridge circuit provides greater sensitivity and least temperature variation errors.
c) Load cell
Load cells are sensors that detect force (torque, etc.). When force is applied to a load cell, it
converts the force into an electrical signal. Load cells are also known as "load transducers,"
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because they convert a load (force) into electrical signals. Strain gauge load cells are the most used
type.
In this load cell, four strain gauges are connected to the load cell. These are further connected to a
Wheatstone bridge. This system is so designed that under normal condition, Wheatstone bridge
remains balanced and hence voltmeter shows no deflection.
Cantilever type load cell
Load cells arrangements for bending measurements.
Tension compression S type
Torque measurement arrangement
Measuring the strain induced in a shaft due to an applied torque has been the most common method
used for torque measurement in recent years. Torque transducers based on strain measurement are
normally made by applying strain gauges to a shaft to measure the shear strain caused by torsion.
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The shear stress causes strains to appear at 45° to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.
2- Calibration
Calibration is to determine the relationship between the input information acquired by the sensor
(measured quantity) and the indicated output signal (voltage).
A calibration applies a known input value to a measurement system for the purpose of observing
the system output value. It establishes the relationship between the input and output values. The
known value used for the calibration is called the standard.
To calibrate the load cell, standard masses are placed on the scale and their corresponding signals
are recorded. The measured points are plotted, and the suitable curve is fitted.
For a linear relationship the slope can be determined.
𝑦 = 𝑎𝑥 + 𝑏
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3- Experiment setup
The setup consists of a load cell cantilever beam as illustrated. The load cell is functioning using
an amplifier circuit HX 711 which amplifies the load cell signal and sends it to the Arduino board.
The measured mass is displayed on the liquid crystal display LCD screen. The Arduino circuit
diagrams for the HX711 amplifier and the LCD are illustrated.
The load cell must also be accurately wired to the HX711 to ensure that the appropriate strain
gauge leads are used to approximate the weight given by the load cell.
// sck 8 DT 9
HX711 scale(9, 8);
LiquidCrystal lcd(12, 11, 5, 4, 3, 2);
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The measurement is acquired using Arduino code. Calibration gain need to be adjusted.
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4- Experiment Procedure
1- Mount the load cell setup and Arduino Board circuit.
2- Run the Arduino and codes to run the measurements.
3- Calibrate the load cell measurement. Draw the calibration curve and define the slope.
4- Perform different measurements.
5- Show the measurements on LCD screen.
6- Submit a group technical report for the experiment. [objective, experiment setup picture and
explanation, results plots, data analysis, discussion]
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